LGBT and the Changing Moral System in Contemporary Chinese Society: Formality Marriage and the Strife between Family-centered Values and Self-centered Individual Needs

Abstract: This study focuses on the phenomenon of formality marriage xinghun in contemporary post-socialist China. This practice is becoming more and more common among LGBT individuals, namely gay men and lesbian women. The research aims to unveil and inquiry the mechanism working behind such practice, focusing on the factors influencing the choice to undergo xinghun, the search for xinghun partner and the arrangements taken before the marriage. As theoretical framework, Yan Yunxiang's dissertations about the changing moral landscape of contemporary Chinese society will be taken in consideration in behalf of the nature of social relationships between individuals. Such analysis will be posed within the context of the ongoing process of individualization triggered by the market liberalization. Hence, the research will focus in particular on the pivotal moment of any Chinese individual, that is, marriage and its social significance. It will be shown how xinghun is a result of this changing social relations, especially those between the old generation and the one called post-80s generation.